Time to get rid of the bottle...

Well, Kaylee is almost a year old! Can you believe it? I sure can't! With that milestone also comes the dreaded chore of getting rid of the bottle. Kaylee is quite fond of her bottle so it's going to be a difficult process (but I refuse to let my child have the bottle until she is 2....my sister!!). So the plan is to start with a bottle feeding each week. Kaylee typically has 4-5 bottles within a 24 hour period. She usually has one when she wakes up, then around her first nap, then right before her second nap, right before bed, and then on most nights she has one during the night (like around 3-5 am...because she STILL does not sleep through the night). I have taken away the bottle before her first nap this week. Next week she won't have her 2nd nap bottle. The week after that I wil probably try to get rid of the bottle before she goes to sleep. Lastly will be the bottle right when she wakes up (eventually we will get rid of the bottle during the night as I will probably give her a sippy as this time instead of the bottle). It's going to be a long, grumpy 4 weeks, but I just don't know that I can cut the bottle cold turkey.

For those who haven't had children yet, I can lend this advice:
Don't ever lay your child down with a bottle. We have done this and it just makes the child more attached to the bottle.
Introduce the sippy early!! Put milk in there that way they'll learn that the sippy isn't just for water/juice...whatever they drink.
Don't (if at all possible) let the child hold the bottle. I say that I won't do this next time, but I think back and Kaylee wanted to hold the bottle so bad that sometimes she wouldn't take it unless she held it. Even with the sippy, she'll only drink it sometimes on "her" terms. I don't really know that I could have done this differently...but I will certainly try with the next child.

Anyway, so we will see if I can hold out and not give in to the cries for the bottle. Hopefully, I will hold strong!